Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Vancouver Police department on wrong side of drug policy debate

The online edition of the Georgia Straight has published a short essay I wrote about the efforts of a major Canadian police agency to influence the passage of a new drug law. Bill C-15 introduces mandatory minimum sentences for low level drug traffickers. It will likely exacerbate the unintended consequences of the black market at a time when many other nations are considering alternatives to drug prohibition. Here's the op-ed: Vancouver Police department on wrong side of drug policy debate

If you have a moment, please leave a comment on the Georgia Straight web site and also forward it to friends who may be interested.

As I've previously noted on this blog, the Vancouver Police Department is at a low point in terms of marijuana grow busts. According to the Vancouver Courier, the department processed 455 grows in 2001 but only about 50 this year. So we've seen almost an order of magnitude decrease in grow-ops under the existing laws. Even if you are a supporter of drug prohibition, I'm not sure how anyone could support harsher penalties based on the experiences of the Vancouver Police Department.

First, I'd like to congratulate this website for using http://Drupal.org, the best Open Source Content Management System there is. :-)

David seems to be one of the few who can see the actual ramifications of what the draconians are putting forth.

I would add a few words to his last question, "When will public-safety organizations realize that Canada needs a drug policy based on ethics and evidence, rather than political opportunity and (short-term) financial gain?"

Congratulations to David for having the courage to face down the intense peer pressure I am sure he faces.

@ Dave Dart, maybe what David B. meant by "illegal marijuana grow operations are a real problem" was that "because they are illegal that's a problem, they should be legal, darn it." (I put the "darn it" in for emphasis. :-) After all, LEAP is for legalization and regulation…